Today is the holy day of Karthika Pournami. Karthika Masam is the
name of the current Lunar month and today is Pournami that is Full Moon Day and
hence the day is called Karthika Pournami. Today is also called as Karthika
Punnami and Karthika Poornima / Purnima. It is a holy celebration to both Lord
Shiva and Lord Vishnu. It is the day on which Lord Shiva killed Tripurasura a
demon king and protected the world. With boons from Lord Ganesha, Tripurasura
became indestructible, grew into an evil force and defeated all the kings of
Earth and the Gods in Heaven. According to Lord Ganesha’s boon, Tripurasura
could be killed only by Lord Shiva. After witnessing the evil deeds and
destruction unleashed by Tripurasura, Lord Ganesha approached Tripurasura in
the guise of a Brahmin with a plan to eliminate him. The Brahmin displayed 64 arts to the demon
king, and pleased with the Brahmin; Tripurasura offered to grant him any wish
he made. The Brahmin asked for the Idol of Chinthamani which is with Lord
Shiva. As Lord Shiva refused to part with the Idol, a war took place between
Lord Shiva and Tripurasura. The Chariot that Lord Shiva rode in this war is
described as Prithvi (Earth) with the Sun and Moon as its wheels and the bow as
Meru (the huge mountain) and Lord Vishnu as the arrow. This single arrow from
Lord Shiva destroyed all the materialistic boons that Lord Ganesha had offered
to Tripurasura in the form of palaces and vimanams (aeroplanes). The speed and
force of the arrow caused heavy lightening which made Tripurasura faint and
ultimately brought about his end.
People in very large numbers bathe in the holy rivers of the
country today. They visit Temples and offer prayers. ‘Abhishekam’ is performed
to Lord Shiva. As such, Karthika Masam that is the entire month of Karthikam is
considered very auspicious. During this entire month and specially today oil
lamps are lit at Temples, at holy rivers and houses with hundreds of wicks,
sometimes thousands of wicks (‘Karthika Deepa-aradhana’) and in modern days 365
wicks to represent the days of the year. Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi along
with all the Gods are said to visit and reside under Amla that is Usiri or
Gooseberry trees by the side of Tulasi plants that is Basil plants, in this
month. Hence a lot of prominence is given to these plants, prayers are offered
to the plants on this day and in this month, and picnics are organized
outdoors, preferably under Amla trees. These rituals are called Vana Mahotsavam
or Vanabhojanalu. All these actions are considered very beneficial, they are
said to liberate us from all sins and bless us with good health, wealth,
prosperity, success, longevity and fulfillment of all wishes.
May all the Gods and Goddesses bless you on this most auspicious day
of the year.
The photographs above this article are of our Karthika Pournami
festivities today. Apart from observing the regular rituals of Karthika
Pournami we also performed Sri Sathyanarayana Swamy Vratham (Puja) today, as today
is the most auspicious day for performing this most significant and beneficial
Vratham.
The photographs below are from some of our earlier Karthika Pournami festivities. Apart from conveying our greetings to you on this
festival day, the purpose of this blog and photographs is to preserve the
knowledge and practices of our rich and happy culture.
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